The relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention among nurses in Axum comprehensive and specialized hospital Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Nurses’ turnover is a global concern which if not handled well can harm the productivity of an organization. The high turnover rate of health workers critically affects the health system, particularly in countries with limited resources. Hence, effective retention strategies require clear identification of the variables at the workplace that determines nurses’ decision in staying in or leaving their employer organization. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention among nurses in Axum Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital Tigray, Ethiopia. The research was conducted using institution based cross-sectional study design. A total of 148 nurses were included in the study using a systematic random sampling technique. The study was conducted from January 2018 to June, 2019. Data were collected using semi-structured self-administered questionnaires. It was entered into Epidemiological information version 7 and then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the statistical association between the outcome variable and selected independent variables. All variables with P value < 0.05 in the bivariate analysis were included in the multivariable analysis. Out of 148 nurses, more than half (64.9%) had the intention to leave the organization. The finding of this study showed that the level of job satisfaction was significantly associated with the overall intention. Nurses who were unsatisfied on their job autonomy were 2.55 (95% CI: 1.194, 5.466) more likely to intend to leave their workplace than nurses who reported to be satisfied. Nurses who were unsatisfied on training opportunity were also 2.55 (95% CI: 1.167, 5.571) times more likely to leave their job than nurses who reported to be satisfied. The overall turnover intention of nurses was found to be high and significantly associated with dissatisfaction on autonomy, and training opportunity. Therefore, continuous effort should be made by ward managers to enhance nurses’ satisfaction onjob autonomy, and training opportunity.